Benazir Bhotto was not killed by the bomber.

On the national news tonight was BBC footage from the rally clearly showing her hair and scarf being dislodged from the recoil of the (at least) 3 shots fired at her. She fell into her vehicle through the sunroof well before the bomb exploded. I would love to link the clip, but cannot seem to locate it. It should be hitting all the media by tomorrow.

PF denizens in the Western US time zones ought to be able to catch the clip on the national news, if the darned football games don't supersede the news. The video was shot from the rear right side of her vehicle and purports to show both the man with the gun and the bomber who followed him in through the crowd. The video released by the Pakistani government was shot from the left side of the vehicle and Bhutto's head was conveniently obscured from view when the attack started.

Pakistani law, if I'm not mistaken, actually requires autopsies be performed for all cases of murder - more reason to believe the hurried burial was politically driven. Apparently, it was the Rawalpindi police chief that turned down the autopsy requests.

Now it seems the Government is actually offering to exhume the body to perform an autopsy.

On the national news tonight was BBC footage from the rally clearly showing her hair and scarf being dislodged from the recoil of the (at least) 3 shots fired at her. She fell into her vehicle through the sunroof well before the bomb exploded. I would love to link the clip, but cannot seem to locate it. It should be hitting all the media by tomorrow.

Thanks for the link, George. The clip on tonight's news was longer than the CNN clip and the shooter and the bomber were highlighted as they made their way through the crowd, as if the cameraman knew something was up. They slowed down the clip and you could clearly see her recoil from the impact of at least one of the slugs and drop into the vehicle well before the bomb exploded.

It looks like the "official" version of her death is designed to play down the assassination angle (don't make a martyr out of her) and make it look like some radical loon blew himself up at the rally and she died accidentally. By this time tomorrow, the video will have made all the news media, and the Pakistani government's spin on this will be pretty thoroughly discredited.

That's it, George - thanks! It was NBC's British affiliate, Channel 4, not the BBC. I was working at the computer, heard the vamp for the video and turned to watch the clip, and somehow assumed that it was a BBC feed. This clip will never get aired on Pakistani TV, but the Internet versions may turn the country very ugly in the next few days. A volatile time for a tinderbox of a region.

What caused her death is the double attack with a gun and a bomb. A double attack is a good way to distribute legal responsibility and cause confusion while at the same time doubling your chances of success. Other than that, I fail to see the relevance of identifying the specifics of what did it: the first bullet, the bomb, the dive into the car, the second or third bullet ...a heart attack? What's relevant is that she was attacked by two assassins and died as a result. Deliciously detailed specifics should not matter.

What caused her death is the double attack with a gun and a bomb. A double attack is a good way to distribute legal responsibility and cause confusion while at the same time doubling your chances of success. Other than that, I fail to see the relevance of identifying the specifics of what did it: the first bullet, the bomb, the dive into the car, the second or third bullet ...a heart attack? What's relevant is that she was attacked by two assassins and died as a result. Deliciously detailed specifics should not matter.

The difference in this case is that by claiming that the bomb blast got her or that she hit her head on her vehicle, the government can portray her as a victim of a more generalized suicide bombing attack directed at the crowd at the rally. By showing the assassin with the pistol AND the bomber, and showing that Bhutto slumped into her vehicle well before the bomb was detonated, the new video proves that there was an assassination conspiracy involving at least two men and that it was directed specifically at Bhutto.

Which do you think would inflame Bhutto's supporters more?
1. Bhutto fractured her skull by hitting her head on her vehicle as a result of the blast at the rally.
2. Bhutto was shot in the head by an assassin with a pistol, whose accomplice then detonated a suicide bomb in a crowd of Bhutto supporters to create confusion and kill witnesses.

The ever-evolving story from the Pakistani government (she was shot - she was hit by shrapnel - she died because she hit her head on her vehicle) is an attempt to defuse the "martyr complex" that may evolve around her. Regardless of how inept and corrupt she may have been in her administration of the Pakistani government, many Pakistanis will overlook that, blame Musharraf for her death and further destabilize the region, giving him another excuse to declare martial law and extend his rule. This is a very dangerous time for the region.

Regardless of how inept and corrupt she may have been in her administration of the Pakistani government, many Pakistanis will overlook that, blame Musharraf for her death and further destabilize the region, giving him another excuse to declare martial law and extend his rule. This is a very dangerous time for the region.

That's not the most dangerous scenario... What if Musharraf were to lose control of his security forces?

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan's premier military intelligence agency has lost control of some of the networks of Pakistani militants it has nurtured since the 1980s, and is now suffering the violent blowback of that policy, two former senior intelligence officials and other officials close to the agency say.

As the military has moved against them, the militants have turned on their former handlers, the officials said. Joining with other extremist groups, they have battled Pakistani security forces and helped militants carry out a record number of suicide attacks this year, including some aimed directly at army and intelligence units as well as prominent political figures, possibly even Benazir Bhutto.

The growing strength of the militants, many of whom now express support for Al Qaeda's global jihad, presents a grave threat to Pakistan's security, as well as NATO efforts to push back the Taliban in Afghanistan. American officials have begun to weigh more robust covert operations to go after Al Qaeda in the lawless border areas because they are so concerned that the Pakistani government is unable to do so.

...

Another former senior intelligence official said dozens of ISI officers who trained militants had come to sympathize with their cause and had had to be expelled from the agency. He said three purges had taken place since the late 1980s and included the removal of three ISI directors suspected of being sympathetic to the militants.

Few things are as dangerous as turned intelligence operatives, especially to a military dictatorship.